THIRD POV

Harry inaudibly groaned as he came to. His whole body felt stiff and sore, not to mention the lava that was slowly burning in his veins. Harry sat up slowly, rubbed his eyes, and began to panic. It wasn't the fact that he couldn't hear anything that was beginning to scare him, because sometimes Madam Pomfrey put up silencing charms for her patient, and he had no doubt that he was in the Hospital Wing. It was because he couldn't see anything. No matter how many times he blinked, shook his head, or rubbed his eyes, the empty blackness before him never ended. Well, not completely empty, Harry reminded himself. He could still see the outlines of mostly everything, as they all glowed with feint magic. But why couldn't he see what they were? Feeling the panic begin to overwhelm his mind, Harry ignored the burning in his throat and tried to call out to someone, but no sound seemed to escape. Another cry for help, but nothing changed. Harry felt himself begin to hyperventilate, his thoughts blurring together, and so his submissive instincts took over. Harry vaulted out of his bed and landed smoothly on the floor, one solid motivator going through his head- find his mates. The troubled male took off, letting his magic guide him through the many halls and corridors to the one mate he had a solid connection to. There was, after all, a reason magic vows fell out of favor.

Severus forcefully pushed the part of himself that was worrying over his mate down, as there was no doubt Poppy would do her very best to keep him safe. The subdominant vampire in turn let his unholy rage seep into his persona a bit as he relished in all the disgusted looks and glares Granger and Weasley were getting. After being shooed out of the Hospital Wing by the Mediwitch and returning to his classroom, Severus had verbally tore into the two saboteurs and took a large amount of points for their transgression. Throwing a known poisonous plant into an already dangerous potion was a huge disregard for his rules, and he had enjoyed the look on Granger's face when he had banned both from ever setting foot in his classroom again. Of course, the boy had treated him with no amount of respect, so he had them both serving several detentions with Mr. Filch as well. And to sweeten the deal, this scene had occurred in front of his entire NEWTS Potions class, so rumor spread like wildfire that the Savior's own two best friends were the ones who had landed him in the Hospital Wing for an undisclosed amount of time. Now, the two were considered outcasts and shunned by everyone. They sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, an obvious amount of space separating them from everyone else.
Severus hummed lightly, before going back to chewing his rather raw steak. He especially needed the blood to keep his darker tendencies in check now that Harry had been injured. Internally grumbling to himself, Severus cut another piece out of his steak, taking great pleasure in sinking his aching fangs into the meat. He spied Ripmav lift his head in confusion out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't see anything wrong until the sound of running filled his ears. It wasn't too odd for someone to be running to the Great Hall during the day, but usually all the students made it to dinner on time. The meal was almost finished though, so Severus could see why they would be running. Deciding to ignore the student, Severus enjoyed the last bite of his meal. He didn't love eating sweets all the time, as it messed with his tastebuds a bit, so he would skip dessert to check on his little one. A few seconds after this very thought, he heard a panicked gasp and then a following thud. The person groaned as Severus stood up to inspect what happened, and Alucard did as well. Casting a suspicious eye at the new teacher, Severus stepped around the staff table. He began to brusquely walk towards the closed double doors, while students stopped what they were doing to stare. The man felt a scowl fall onto his face as he heard several people slander his name. Eyes firmly placed on the double doors, Severus stopped in shock when he saw them being forced open. The doors suddenly swept out with a loud smash and standing there, dead center, was the bleeding form of a male. Not just any random student either, it was Harry Potter. Tears flowed down the submissive's scarred face as people began to recognize him, standing up and calling out in confusion. How did he escape Pomphrey so soon? Why was he crying? Did the accident hurt? Was he alright? Severus could only stand in shock at seeing the devastating sorrow on a face that deserved to be full of joy while Alucard had to force himself not to move. It was only when the submissive started moving that the trance was broken. Ron got up from the end of the table to rush over to Harry, most-likely to tell him a lie and pretend he was worried, but his plan was derailed when the submissive violently flinched back and ran around his advances. Severus felt a growl build in his throat as some brave students began to reach out for Harry, wondering what was wrong. The scared male merely jumped around them and ran right into Severus. The subdominant felt a small amount of relief as he ensconced Harry in his arms and shielded him with his outer robes. The submissive had been shivering in his hospital gown, and took great peace in fisting his hands in Severus' robes and burying his face into the man's chest. The subdominant gently shushed his karus and pet his hair, trying to get the male to calm down. These actions only caused several people to yell in both anger and shock though, as it was a known fact that Harry Potter hated the evil Potions Master.
Severus felt like growling again, but he rather turned his attention to his little mate. His shaking had died down and there were a few small cuts that were bleeding, but that's not what worried him. Harry seemed unbothered by all of the jeers and questions. "Harry?" The male looked up at him with cloudy, mustard eyes, and Severus quickly cast a wandless glamour. Watching Harry's eyes bleed back to emerald, Severus noted that the cloudy part was still there and Harry didn't seem to be looking straight at him. Severus felt rising dread as one question popped into his mind. "Harry... Can you see me?" The male in question merely hummed, his head tilting to one side in confusion. He continued to stare, unfocused, in the Potions Master's direction. Severus felt his throat tighten in fear for his submissive in the following silence as everyone had grown quiet at his question. "You can't hear me." The vampire felt his cold heart drop as many of the students were swept into an uproar. That was why the Boy-Who-Lived was in the Snape's arms. He simply didn't know who it was! A few Gryffindors even mustered up enough courage to pass Professor Ripmav and approach the two mates while the hall quieted once more. "Let him go Snape. Merlin, I'd never thought you to stoop so low." Seamus jeered at the man while Dean stepped up beside him. "That's saying something too. Stop taking advantage of Harry this instant." Severus sneered at the boys and minutely pulled his submissive closer. "Despite what you may think, I am not a 'heartless bastard' and I do indeed know how to offer comfort. It seems that because of a certain person's actions," Severus took great pleasure in reminding everyone of just who should be receiving their anger. "Mr. Potter has been blinded and deafened. As I am the last person to offer him help before he went into a coma, it is likely that his magic seeks out my magical signature to make sure that it's vessel is not endangered while it heals. But I believe that I do not have to explain myself to the likes of either of you, Messrs. Finnegan and Thomas." Severus glowered at them as he waited a moment for any type of retort, but was greeted with nothing. "As I thought." The man then dramatically swished his robes and helped Harry walk out of the Great Hall uninterrupted.